


A New Ending for The Outsiders

by RoaringNectar



Category: The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 00:54:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14842493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoaringNectar/pseuds/RoaringNectar
Summary: Could there be a world in which some key events don't happen? I don't want to give away too much, but I hope you enjoy my couple hours worth of writing!





	A New Ending for The Outsiders

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy this!!

As Dally and I stepped into Johnny’s room, we both drew in gulps of air, but something was off, it almost tasted stale. I heard the doctor gently close the door behind us as he exited the room, but that was the last thing on my mind. I stood there, frozen. The guy on that bed couldn’t be our Johnny. Our Johnny was full of life, he was energetic and sweet. The boy on that bed was pale and sickly, his eyes were closed and he was barely breathing.

Dally was the first to carefully make his way to Johnny’s side. “Johnnycake?” his voice trembled, and he was almost on the verge of tears. “Johnny, it’s me and Pony.” 

It was only then that I grasped what had happened. Johnny had killed a man, and Johnny was going to die. I knelt next to Dallas Winston, the fearless machine that handed two children a gun and told them to run. Now, I wasn’t sure if he would break down. I held Johnny’s hand as Dally told him about our rumble with the Socs, and how he was a hero. 

“And buddy,” Dally softly whispered. “Everyone’s proud of you. The gang is proud of you. I’m honored to be your pal.” 

After that, I reached a trembling hand to the side of Johnny’s neck to feel for a pulse cause he didn’t seem to be breathing so good anymore. When I couldn’t feel anything, I tried again, but there was nothing. “Dally…” I couldn’t finish the sentence.

In an instant he was in the hall, calling for someone, anyone. I could hear him sobbing, and I felt as if I were in a dream as nurses rushed in, surrounding Johnny, trying to make him suck in another breath of air. After minutes of fruitless efforts, they shook their heads, and someone wordlessly guided us out of the room, into the lobby. I felt like they weren’t saying anything, but now I’m not so sure cause there was this ringing in my ears that wouldn’t go away.

The next thing I remember was sitting on the curb by the street with Dally, his arm around me. As soon as he saw that I had moved, he let his arm drop. It was dark, and the only light was a flickering street lamp. 

“Pony, I… I don’t know.” He looked off into the distance, and I could see that his eyes were wet. “Sometimes I wonder what Johnny felt. What made him feel hopeless.”

I looked up at him clearly then as he stood and started pacing in the middle of the road. He was holding his head in his hands like it might burst at any second, and mouthing words that I couldn’t hear.

“Pony, you better get home now.” Surprised at the sudden stiffness in his voice, I stood, and he glanced down the road. “It’s getting late, and this ain’t any place for a boy to be.”

“No Dally. This ain’t no place for anyone, and if you aim to stay here, you’re gonna need someone to keep you sane.” I walked towards him, stepping slowly.

“No, no, Ponyboy! You don’t see! Johnny had it right! Johnny was too pure for our world, and he knew how to get to a better place!” He turned to stare at me, a dangerous glint in his eye. “Johnny never knew how to do it, but I can see now. Go home, Ponyboy, and I mean right away.” Suddenly he didn’t seem so tough, he was a greaser, just like me. Just like Johnny was.

I took one more step towards Dally, trying to make myself seem sure of what I was doing. “Dallas Winston, if you were about to do what I think you were, you ain’t nothin’ like Johnny. Johnny had the courage to go on, to respect others and even himself. If I leave you here, you’re gonna do something that you would never have the chance to regret.” I paused for a moment, amazed by the silence Dally was allowing me to fill. “Come on Dally, come home with me. We got a spare bed waiting, and I… I can’t lose another pal.”

 

Dally looked absolutely miserable as I helped him walk to my place (which was no easy feat cause I was so scrawny) and when we reached the front door, he looked horrified, and tried to run. “Darry! Soda! I need help! Now!” Darry ran out, and saw me struggling to restrain Dally.

“What in the world...?!” Darry ran out and helped me bring Dally inside, where he sat on our sofa, swaying and sobbing. I wasn’t too much better, and I think I was in some form of shock.

I don’t remember much about the next couple of days. I told Darry and Soda that Johnny was dead, and we had a funeral for him. Nice and quiet, like Johnny used to be. Nothing was quite the same after that. We went to court, but all they wanted to hear about was how I saved those kids from that fire in the church. I told them about Johnny, but they didn’t seem to care.

The judge told us that we could stay together, which was supposed to be good news, but I don’t know what I said. I slept a lot, and Dally did too. He wasn’t the same, and neither was I. Darry stayed home to watch us, even when I insisted I was fine.

That time was almost the worst of my life, second only to Mom and Dad’s deaths. For Dally though, it was awful. He wouldn’t eat much and he got real scared to go out and play football or buy a Pepsi. I would go out to play, but I dreaded the idea of returning to school, and begged Darry not to make me go. He had me call my teachers and get school work from them to work on at home.

“Darry, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk too you about.” I stood in front of Darry as he sat at our wooden table, slurping down cereal.  
“Sure kiddo.” He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “What’s up?”

I took a deep breath. “It’s Dally. He’s not getting any better, and I’m worried that if he leaves… he, he might not come back.” 

Darry looked up at me, mildly surprised. “Hey, Ponyboy, Dally misses Johnny, same as the rest of the gang, but he ain’t stupid. He wouldn’t pull a stunt like that.”

I gulped then, because Darry hadn’t seen Dally the night of Johnny’s death. He’d been ready to lay in the road and wait for a car. He was just going to tell me to go home. “Darry.” I said firmly. “Dally isn’t alright. Are you ignoring him? His clothes barely fit him anymore, and he won’t leave the house. You don’t know what happened.” Suddenly, without planning to, I broke down and cried. “He, he was gonna kill himself.” I sobbed as Darry hugged me, saying everything would be alright.

That same night, we couldn’t find him. He just disappeared without a trace. We searched the house, the neighborhood, and then we split up. Soda went to the park, Darry went to the police station, but I went to the hospital. It was a long walk, especially in the dark, but I knew I had to find him. I couldn’t lose both him and Johnny. 

I pushed past bushes until I could find the road, and as I got closer, I saw him. “Dally, what in God’s name are you doing?!” I ran for the edge as he turned to look at me, but I could already hear an engine in the distance. I sprinted for him. As I reached for Dally in the middle of the road, I saw the car come barreling towards us. I desperately pulled Dally’s arm, screamed at him to run, but he was still too heavy for me to move.

As I gave his arm one last tug, I heard a car horn blare, and could hear the thump of contact, but it was like a dream, all happening in slow motion. It wasn’t Dally lying limp on the road, it was me. A frazzled man leaped out of his car, shouting for a medic in the hospital. I silently prayed that Dally would be alright before I lost consciousness and slipped into a dark void.

I felt surprised to wake up after that. The whole gang was in my hospital room, sitting on chairs or the floor. When they saw that my eyes were open, they rushed over. 

“Hey y’all.” I winced as a sharp pain went down my spine.

“Easy there Ponyboy.” Soda gave me a grim smile. You’ve got some broken bones and they, they had to amputate.”

“What?” I was still in a stupor. My arms were fine, but that meant… “Which leg?” My voice caught as I tried to ask the question.

“Your left.” Darry gave me a gentle hug. “At least you’re here to tell the story.”

At that moment, it all came back. Running towards the road, running for Dally. Grabbing him, trying to get him out of the way…. “Where’s Dally?” I felt panic rising in my stomach. “Tell me, where’s Dally?!”

“He’s gonna be just fine, now you just worry about healing yourself. You very well could have saved his life.” Darry gave me a sad smile, then whispered in my ear, “He’s physically fine, but he needed some help with his ways of thinking. He’s meeting with one of those special docs, but he’s still with us.” 

I considered what he had just said. Dally would be fine. Dally was still alive. I thanked all of the gang for coming to see me, until it was just me, Darry, and Soda. “I miss Johnny.” That was the truth. Johnny was what held our gang together, and gave us hope and feeling.

At that moment I wanted nothing more than a peaceful world. I wished that the Socs could have been kind, and I wished us greasers hadn’t pushed them back. I wished everyone had the same opportunities in life, but now I guess that isn’t fair. If everyone had it easy, there wouldn’t be anything to learn from, and that’s what makes life worth living.

 

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think? Comments make my day! Thank you sooooo much!! Kudos much appreciated :)


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